Sorana Cirstea upsets Belinda Bencic in three sets

Sorana Cirstea clenches her fist during a first-round match with Belinda Bencic at the Western & Southern Open. 

Sorana Cirstea fought through every point to achieve victory at the Western & Southern Open Tuesday. The Romanian never let her game fall hard and stayed on Belinda Bencic, who erred late in a 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 result on Porsche Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.  

The two last met during the hard quarantine days in Australia last year, where the Romanian edged the Swiss in straight sets. In a less restricted environment, the players sought a positive outlook to the tournament. Bencic posted three matches in Toronto before losing out to Beatriz Haddad Maia in a tough battle. Coming into Ohio, the 25-year-old was warmed up for further action that Cirstea had yet to log in. After Wimbledon, the 32-year-old right-hander played once in Prague but had yet dug in to the US Open Series. With two weeks before the slam, the Romanian required an upset to continue.

Both players opened the match, with Cirstea leading the way through five games. In the sixth, Bencic had trouble with her service, leaving the Romanian to power through for the break and a two-game lead. The 32-year-old backed up the break, taking a firm hold of the set and putting the 12th seed under pressure. The Swiss opened the eighth with two good points, but the next three went the way of Cirstea due to terrific ball placement. Bencic forced deuce with a return winner, but back-to-back errors sealed it up for the Romanian, who had a leg up after 35 minutes.

During the set break, Bencic received a time violation for not returning in time from the restroom. As play got underway in the second, the two played a long rally, with Cirstea earning the first point on serve. She lost the next three of four before saving a breakpoint from the Swiss. Bencic produced another to take the game only to be broke back. The Romanian backed up her response with a strong service game to lead 2-1 on the 12th seed.

The following five games were held by both players, closing in on the business end of the set. The ninth game was a contest as the lead would go to the winner of it. Bencic forced deuce against the Romanian, leading to a tug of war for the AD point. After four breaks, Cirstea managed to hold off the Swiss, giving her a chance to play for the match. The 32-year-old earned points from Bencic’s errors, but the Swiss turned it around with aggressive play, securing the hold of serve.

The 12th seed kept up the quality and broke Cirstea in the 11th, earning her a chance at taking the set away. It was a mix of good points and bad points for Bencic, who expected Cirstea to falter on two lobbed shots, but watched her succeed in returning. It put them into the tie-break, with the Romanian earning the first point. On the third point, Cirstea drew an error for the mini-break, but couldn’t keep up with the long pace Bencic wanted.

Errors started to creep in to the offense, giving Bencic freedom to dictate the remainder of the competition. Reaching three set points, the 12th seed earned her way to a deciding set, watching a crosscourt from Cirstea land wide of the baseline in what was a 72-minute onslaught. Both had similar stats, given how the set went evenly on holds of serve.

The third didn’t start that way as Cirstea broke Bencic and consolidated with the hold of serve. The Swiss star got on the board in the third, keeping within striking distance while sitting a break down. Cirstea kept her lead in check through the eighth game when it came time for Bencic to serve to survive. In the ninth the Romanian earned her first match point, but the 12th seed killed her chance, forcing deuce in response. The 25-year-old won the AD point and played the ball away from the body until Cirstea hit a return long.

The 32-year-old still had a shot to win the match on her terms, and after a double fault, she drew errors from Bencic and soon had a second match point. The Swiss pushed her opponent behind the baseline and delivered a shot away from her to force deuce. Cirstea played the next point reaching every return from the 12th seed to earn a third match point. The 32-year-old got it done and dusted on a low shot that didn’t come back across the court, ending 2 hours and 38 minute challenge.